So, it’s probably worth noting that I’m not referring to the kind of officer that you see in the little video above, this post is instead going to be about guild officers as opposed to Russian police that don’t want to be eaten by wolves. I’m sure you can see the similarity though. Guild officers go through a lot to keep the guild running, especially good ones. I think a lot of players don’t appreciate what the leaders of their guild go through in order to make it function cohesively, or at least as cohesively as possible. Continue on to read a little about what your officers do for your guild and how you can help them out – hint – it doesn’t involve cake.
Recruiting
In order to make a guild in the first place, or maintain it’s roster, Officers must recruit new players. This can be a grueling task which can be made more bothersome depending on a potential abundance or lack of new recruit possibilities. This can involve messages in /trade or /general (I exclude the recruiting channel cause, really, who uses that?), updating the guild website (I’ll get back to that later), posts on community forums or other websites – potentially hours of work just to get the message out there. At that point the officers must filter the applicants and often set up times for them to join the guild or just a raid for a tryout raid/period and then determine if they are a fit. Social leveling guilds often have a little easier process since there is less filtering done, but usually more new recruits to process.
Raids
Your guild officers have to do a ton of work to make sure raids go smoothly, much of this you may not realize already. First, officers must decide on and implement a raid schedule that works for the majority of guild members, this can be a daunting task to start. They also must be the most aware of the mechanics of any given fight. This means extra fight research for mechanics and strategies and then determining the one(s) the guild should attempt. The officers also must have a system for both getting raid invites and loot distribution. Regardless of what system chosen for invites, the officer must make sure the raid composition is going to work. You can’t just /roll for spots and then end up with 9 dps and 1 healer for a raid. Both raid invites and loot distribution can also be great sources of drama. Officers and raid leaders must do the best they can to have a fair and understood system for both in order to limit that potential. This just is leading up to the raid. Officers must determine if players in the raid are performing their task, using the right buffs/flasks/food, why wipes occur and how to fix them, etc. Actually getting the raiders working together has been described often has “herding cats”.
So How Can I Help?
There’s a lot that a non-officer member can do to help out raid leaders. As a base starting point, show up to raid on time, having done your homework on the fights, have your gear enchanted/gemmed, be flasked and fed. Also, be aware of your guilds raiding, loot, and general behavior policies. If you know the rules ahead of time, it’s less likely you’ll end up being a source of drama and a time/fun-suck for your guild leaders. You can also volunteer your time to help in other places. Guild officers must make the final decision about a new applicant, but if they allow, you could probably help deliver the message that your guild is recruiting. Helping other players out with class questions can take some weight off the leaders shoulders. If you are knowledgeable about a classes talents, gear, and buff needs, passing that information on when other players ask is one less thing that a guild officer might have to do in order to make everything go smoothly. Even if you don’t have a specific idea in mind, after seeing just a glimpse of what it takes to run a guild, offering your help is almost always a good way to at least make the leadership feel appreciated.